CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHARLIE
Maybe I shouldn't have asked for a full explanation all at once. I mean, he has been in my apartment less than a day. I really shouldn’t expect him to unload ten years of whatever he’s been hiding right now, but he owes me that much.
Standing from the couch, I make my way to the kitchen where take-out menus are stuffed in a drawer, “We should probably start slow. Maybe don’t start with the ten year download? Are you hungry? I feel like this conversation needs a meal or at least snacks!”
“Food sounds good.” he says and I squeal as I turn to look at him. He’s standing so close to me; I hadn’t realized he followed me out of the room.
One side of his lips lift and I can see the tension in his face and shoulders lessen, but he’s definitely still worried. It might sound silly, but nothing bad can happen when there’s good food and good conversation.
“What are you thinking?” he asks.
I tilt my head ever so slightly and place my index finger on my nose tapping to my internal rhythm and thinking of what sounds good. When our eyes meet we both blurt in unison, “Chinese?”
I fall into a fit of giggles and the longer I laugh the larger his smile becomes. His smile makes the darkness of his eyes sparkle like stars. My stomach does a little flip because it feels like nothing has changed; we are two peas in a pod again. A few seconds go by and the worry slowly sneaks back on his face. Tonight, this conversation, right here, right now, is going to change everything. I can tell he’s hiding something but I need to trust him for this to work.
Once I can talk without going into another laughing fit, I make the call to my new favorite Chinese place. The phone rings and a woman answers.
“Yuri, what do you want to eat?” I ask as he quickly scans the menu.
“Hand me your phone. It’ll be easier if I order.” He says with a cheeky grin.
I hand over my phone and he orders curry chicken with fried rice. I expect him to hand over the phone for me to order, but then he says, “and we’ll get an order of honey sesame chicken with steamed rice and veggies too. Let’s also get a large side of egg drop soup and an order of crab rangoons.” He hangs up the phone. “Our order will be ready in thirty minutes. They had your address on file with your phone number.”
I’m looking at him, my mouth hanging open, “How?” I clear my throat, “How did you know my Chinese order?” He looks at me and smiles. He just smiles like there’s no issue here. “I mean, I know I wasn’t ordering honey sesame chicken in the fourth-grade.”
A look of confusion crosses his face, or maybe he’s holding back a laugh. The minute eye scrunch he used to make when we were kids was there and gone so fast I could be interpreting it wrong. Am I reading into this too much or does he look like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar?
“Why do you look so guilty?” I say letting out a nervous giggle.
We’ve been eating our food and watching 27 Dresses, one of my favorite Rom Coms, to defuse some of the heaviness from this conversation. I figured it would be a good way to lighten the mood. As Jane is trying on her bridesmaids dresses for Kevin, I come back to the shocking realization that Yuri has been close to me from the moment I came to the city for college. I wasn’t surprised to hear he had me tailed, but the fact that he, himself, was near me and he didn’t say anything. He just what? Watched me like some kind of stalker?
I always considered myself to be pretty self-aware, but the fact I have no idea that I was not only being tailed but stalked, makes me reconsider my instincts. I’m going to have to be better about paying attention to my surroundings; especially since Yuri seems to think I’m in danger. From what or who I still don’t have a clue but maybe I should consider switching up my routine a bit maybe take some kickboxing classes at the Y.
I’m getting frustrated with him because he keeps skirting around who the hell he’s guarding me from. I’ve been asking him a million questions about this but he keeps saying it’s “for my protection.” If he doesn’t start giving me real answers, my face might just stay stuck like that damn eye rolling emoji. Then I’ll slap the shit out of him for holding out on me. How am I supposed to keep an eye out and protect myself if I don't even know what the danger is?
I’ve dropped the argument for now because I honestly don’t want to fight right now. We have changed so much in the last ten years, so cuddling and catching up is more important to me right now. I sneak a glance at his beautiful face and smile to myself because even after all the heartache and crazy that comes with knowing and caring for this man, I know this is going to be the best night I have had in too many years and I don’t want to waste anymore time.